LIVE UPDATES: Pope Francis lies in state as Vatican announces Friday coffin sealing
Vatican City, Apr 23, 2025 / 05:30 am
Pope Francis passed away at 7:35 a.m. local time on Easter Monday, April 21, at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, as confirmed by the Holy See Press Office. The 88-year-old pontiff led the Catholic Church for a little more than 12 years.
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How the faithful bid final farewell as Pope Francis lies in state until Friday
April 23, 2025 at 07:43 am ET
Now is the time to say farewell in person: Pope Francis will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica for the public to see, pray, and say goodbye, until Friday evening, April 25.
Cardinal Farrell will close the coffin in preparation for the funeral Mass on Saturday.
Pope Francis’ coffin to be sealed on Friday, Vatican announces
April 23, 2025 at 06:00 am ET
The Vatican says that Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo, will preside over the rite of closing Pope Francis’ coffin on Friday, April 25, at 8:00 p.m. Rome time (2:00 p.m. ET) in St. Peter’s Basilica.
According to a statement released by Monsignor Diego Ravelli, Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, this private ceremony follows the protocols established in the “Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis” (The Order of Funeral Rites for the Roman Pontiff).
The solemn rite takes place in the presence of various Church authorities as the late pontiff’s body is prepared for burial, which will occur after the funeral Mass on Saturday.
Thousands of pilgrims enter St. Peter’s Basilica to bid farewell to Pope Francis
April 23, 2025 at 05:42 am ET
The transfer of Pope Francis’ coffin to St. Peter’s Basilica began at 9:00 a.m. local time today, April 23, following a prayer ceremony in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta.
The doors of St. Peter’s Basilica opened at 11:00 a.m. local time (5:00 a.m. ET) for the public, allowing more than 20,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pay their final respects to Pope Francis on Wednesday.
The late pontiff’s coffin rests before the altar on a modest wooden platform, placed almost at ground level.
Pilgrims are pausing to pray for a few moments before moving on, in a solemn procession that will continue until the pope’s burial at St. Mary Major Basilica following Saturday’s funeral Mass, which will be celebrated by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The Vatican “sediari” — the same bearers who in past centuries carried the portable papal throne — transported the coffin on their shoulders to St. Peter’s Square, accompanied by cardinals currently present in Rome.
From Casa Santa Marta to the Vatican Basilica, the procession was marked by visible emotion among onlookers. Some could not hold back tears as they followed in respectful silence the final journey of the “Pope of the peripheries.”
On Friday, at 8:00 p.m. local time, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, in his role as Camerlengo of Holy Roman Church, will preside over the rite of closing of the coffin of the Roman Pontiff Francis.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re leads Rosary prayer in St. Peter’s Square
April 23, 2025 at 01:16 am ET
Thousands of faithful gather in St. Peter’s Square Tuesday evening to pray the Rosary for the soul of Pope Francis, led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals.
Under the twilight sky, religious sisters, priests, and lay faithful from around the world unite in prayer for the late pontiff who often concluded his public appearances with the simple request: “Please, don’t forget to pray for me.”
Before beginning the Rosary, Cardinal Re reminds those present that “death is not a door that closes, but rather the entrance to the heavenly Jerusalem, where mourning is turned into dancing and the garment of grief into a robe of joy.”
The Rosary, focused on the Glorious Mysteries, highlighted the Church’s unity in grief and hope. “It is the entire flock of Christ, the Good Shepherd, that prays for Pope Francis,” Cardinal Re says.
This communal prayer marks one of several public moments of mourning scheduled before Pope Francis’ funeral, which will take place on Saturday.
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